Midnight. Late. And he was still awake. Glitch would probably give him grief for this in the morning during their sparring session, but that wasn't the worst thing that had ever happened to him, so really he wasn't worried. Glitch could do a whole lot worse to him than mouth off about how a proper knight of the Iron Kingdom didn't stay up past all hours of the night and day, sitting uselessly at his desk, staring at the same blank sheet of paper without the faintest idea what to write on it. Not that he needed to be reminded on what a 'proper knight' was supposed to or not supposed to do. After all, Tertius felt he was much more qualified in the knowhow of knighthood than Glitch would ever be. He'd spent the past hundred years of his existence as a knight to the Iron Monarchy—both the good branches and the bad—and he'd have a few choice words to say to Glitch if the man decided to bring up the knight's code. Glitch may have it memorized down to an exact page number, but Tertius could cite perfectly what page number, what paragraph and what line it came from. Glitch could uppity if he wanted, but it wouldn't carry him very far…
Tertius heaved a sigh, gazing almost blindly down at the white sheet of paper in front of him, one hand propping up his head, the other tapping a pen rapidly against his desk so a constant ticking sound filled the otherwise silent room of his chambers. He'd been sitting here since he and the others had returned to Iron Kingdom, and that had been nearly five hours ago. Not only was it beyond frustrating that he had yet to consider a single then to pen out, it was utterly pathetic that he—a man usually never lost for words no matter the situation—couldn't think of one little word to start the letter he had promised he would to Trinity. It went beyond pathetic.
Groaning, he tossed the pen down and leaned back in his seat, hands over his face. This was getting more and more tiresome by the minute, but he had sworn to Trinity and to himself that he would write her a letter, and he intended to do just that. But how did one go about writing a letter when they had nothing to write about. Certainly, he'd considered the overly cliché 'Roses are red, violets are blue' spiel, but somehow he felt that wasn't quite what Trinity was looking for from him, and he wasn't about to treat her like some dime a dozen princess in a bad romance novel. He had also considered a long hand epic about how she shouldn't worry about their time apart because he would never waver, but that sounded like something he'd read in one of Shakespeare's works and he wasn't keen on it, either. He had thought at one point earlier in the knight to consult Ash and ask the Prince's opinion on what a girl like Trinity would appreciate in a letter, but had stopped himself before he could even get out the door on that. The last thing he needed to do was alert his Prince to the fact he was penning love letters to a girl that he shouldn't have even looked twice at given their respective court loyalties.
Ash may not be one to throttle him for his affections for Trinity—especially considering the Prince had broken all boundaries just by falling in love with the girl he was happily married to—but Tertius wasn't foolish enough think that Ash would let him carry on as he was. He might give him a sympathetic frown and say he wished he could help, but that it would be in Tertius's best interests to just drop the whole thing and forget it. Yes, that was just the kind of thing that Ash would say… Tertius had also thought about talking to Meghan, since he figured if anyone was clued in on the issue and would be willing to help it would be the Queen, but he had cut himself off there, too. Whatever the Queen knew, Ash knew as a result, and he wasn't about to let his Monarchs squabble among themselves over something as silly as his love interests. Besides, he didn't think he could handle it if Meghan decided to go cooing over how adorable it was that he had finally found a girl suitable for him after so many years being the odd man out. Glitch would have a field day with that, and Tertius didn't want his sparring sessions with the other knight to turn into death matches because Glitch ended up crossing a line and setting off his temper.
So…with no one left to turn to, Tertius was left to his own imagination, and it seemed as though his very imagination was turning its nose up at him, and he had absolutely nothing to go on. Spectacular…
He groaned again, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes and watching white stars dance and wink across his vision, along with a dull pain that abated when he lowered his hands to his lap and stared vaguely at the still shamefully white paper on his desk. It would have at least made him feel better if he'd started a few ideas and had to cross them out. That at least would have suggested progress. But, no, he had nothing. Nada. Zip. He was just so not cut out for this romance business…even Digit would have had a better time of writing a love epic than he was…and that was saying a lot for a tech elf.
He felt like there was a human saying for this kind of predicament…now, what was it…?
The bedroom door slammed open behind him, not even making him flinch, and Glitch's furious voice snapped from behind him,
"Fuck my life!"
Ah, yes…that was it.
"Hello, Glitch," sighed Tertius without looking around.
"What the fuck are you doing up this late?!" Glitch snapped at him, stomping over to glare down through enraged violet eyes at his comrade in arms, who didn't look up.
"I assumed since you came barging in like that that you had anticipated I would be awake," said Tertius dully, taking his pen back up and beginning to tap it rapidly against the desk, one hand lifted to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Or did you just come in with the idea that you'd wake me up to make me as miserable as you seem to be? Because that's totally unnecessary at this point."
"No, I didn't know you'd be up," said Glitch irritably, yanking the nearby stool that Tertius kept at the desk up to drop himself in it with a huff of annoyance. "Yes, I wanted to wake you up and make you be pissed off like me. Now, are you gonna ask why?"
"Do I want to?" inquired Tertius, closing his silver eyes and trying to drown out his comrade. It didn't work so splendidly as he would have hoped.
"Yeah, you do," said Glitch tersely.
"Alright," sighed Tertius, realizing he wasn't going to get any peace unless he heard Glitch out, and set down his pen before turning in his seat to raise both eyebrows at his companion. "What's so wrong with your life?"
"Ash got pissed off at me again," said Glitch predictably. Ash was always pissed off at him…
"And why was he pissed off at you?" asked Tertius wearily.
Glitch gave Tertius a slanty eyed look that had Tertius thinking unerringly of the Cait Sith Grimalkin and he had to try not to smirk.
"Don't go Dr. Phil on me, you punk," said Glitch in annoyance.
"I was just asking, Glitch," sighed Tertius, rolling his eyes. "Did you want me to ask you what was wrong or not?"
"I do," muttered his companion. "I just don't want you to talk to me like I'm five years old or mentally deranged when you do…"
"I'm sorry," apologized Tertius, trying to keep from snorting in derision. "I'll remember better now. So, why was the Prince upset with you?"
"Upset is the worst understatement you could make," sighed Glitch, slumping back against the wall behind him, arms folded over his chest as he glared across the room. "He yelled at me for a solid five minutes."
"About?" prompted Tertius, linking his fingers together in his lap and cocking an eyebrow.
"You," Glitch said with a snort. "And you're little disappearing act this morning with Lady Trinity. Ash was giving me hell about it because he apparently didn't get to finish giving me hell back at Spindle's this morning. He was swearing and yelling about what was he going to say to Oberon if it turned out that you and her had gone off and done something 'indecent' and of course I had to open my big mouth and ask about him and Queen Meghan and how they did almost the same thing and he yelled at me some more and said I needed to keep a better watch on you from here on out."
He turned to Tertius, his violet eyes narrowed to slits, and gave his companion a severe look.
"So," he said coolly, "Now that you've heard why I got bitched at and why I came busting in here, you wanna tell me what you and the Lady were doing at some early hour yesterday morning?"
"We didn't do what Ash accused us of, if that's what you're trying to ask me without directly saying the words," said Tertius tiredly, his silver eyes narrowing back at Glitch.
"I didn't say you did," Glitch said, putting his hands up. "Though I was wondering… You two disappeared and we didn't know how long you'd been gone together."
"Fifteen minutes, tops," said Tertius curtly.
Glitch gave him a thoughtful look. "Well, if you're in a rush, that's more than enough time to—"
"Glitch." Tertius glared. "I just told you I didn't touch Lady Trinity."
"Alright, alright, sorry," apologized the other Iron knight with a small grin. "Just making sure, man. Has to be asked. So, if you weren't off ravishing each other in the great unknown, what were you doing?"
"It is none of your business," said Tertius, stiffly turning away from Glitch, whose eyebrows shot up in interest.
"Isn't it?" he scoffed. "I just got chewed out because of it! It's totally my business to know why the hell I got the sharp end of the stick and you didn't!"
"Just because I didn't get the sharp end doesn't mean I didn't get the butt of it," muttered Tertius irritably, beginning to tap his pen fastidiously on the desk again, staring down in aggravation at the paper in front of him. Why couldn't he just glamour words onto the paper? That would be so much easier…
"Oh, you got beat, too, huh?" Glitch looked a little more relaxed to hear this. "What did Ash say to you?"
"Who said it was the Prince?"
"Then who? Queen Meghan?"
Tertius sighed in annoyance as he threw down his pen for the second time and turned to fix his partner with a dark glare.
"Glitch," he said dangerously, "While I am sympathetic to the fact you took the fall for me, I am in no mood to talk about this."
Glitch's eyebrows rose even higher at Tertius's uncharacteristic show of irritation and aggression, and he couldn't quite hide the broad smirk that curled his lips. Of course, that was a mistake considering the death glare he then received from Tertius as a result.
"You didn't touch Lady Trinity," he said slowly, deciding he'd rather ignore the warning bells going off in his head as he eyed Tertius through glowing violet eyes, "But something tells me you wanted to… Come on, Tertius, what's going on with you and her? Don't tell me I'm about to witness another legendary star crossed love in the making. I thought I'd had enough of that with the Prince and the Queen."
"You have got five seconds to leave," Tertius growled at the other knight, whose face lit up with glee and shock at once.
"You're in love with her!" Glitch couldn't help the laughter bubbling up inside him and gave a whoop as Tertius's eyes narrowed to furious silver slits. "Holy shit, Tertius! You've got to be kidding me!"
"Four," snarled Tertius, and Glitch rose to his feet, hands in the air, backing away slowly but still grinning hugely.
"Tertius, man, that's just a bad idea waiting to happen," Glitch said, shaking his head. "She's a Summer noble, you're an Iron knight. Somehow I don't think that's going to blow over too well with either Ash or Oberon if it ends up becoming an issue."
"Three," said Tertius in a biting voice, rising to his feet and stalking closer to his companion, who wasn't leaving the room fast enough.
But Glitch wasn't smiling now, and his face became a mask of seriousness as he faced his enraged comrade.
"Tertius, listen to me," he said, his voice pleading now as he held his ground in the doorway, despite Tertius towering over him with his silver eyes flashing with menace. "You know this won't end well! Besides, can't you at least stop to consider that maybe you're just having a phase? It happens all the time."
"Not for me, it doesn't," said Tertius in a deadly murmur.
"Then at least hear me out on this," said Glitch, looking desperately at the other knight, "No matter what the two of you might have in common, you guys will never have that chance together. The courts wouldn't allow it."
"Be glad the Prince didn't hear you say that," Tertius told him icily.
"That's not the point," said Glitch, getting frustrated. "Tertius, man, she's Summer, you're Iron. Not only that, she's nobility and you're…well, you're just a knight! Even if you two were part of the same court, it wouldn't work out! Nothing about you two is made for the other. I'm not trying to kill your happiness, but I'm telling you as your friend that it's safer and better for the both of you if you just let it go. Chances are, even if you're not having a phase, she is. She's only human after all and they don't hold onto their feelings forever."
"You seem pretty uneducated about human emotions for the time you've been serving the Queen," Tertius observed coldly, arms folded tightly across his chest, barely managing to keep from pulling his sword and sticking it right in Glitch's stomach.
"You're missing the point," said Glitch, truly annoyed now. "Tertius! You'd be risking more than just yours and Lady Trinity's lives and dignity. Think about what it would mean for Ash and Meghan, too. If it got out that one of their knights was consorting with a noble woman of Oberon's court—"
But he didn't get to say anything else before Tertius reached and shoved him out of the door, slamming it and bolting it before Glitch could gather himself.
"Tertius!" Glitch walked up and hammered on the door. "Hey! Dammit, Tertius, open the door!"
Tertius did not answer, and Glitch swore as he leveled a hard kick at the door, which didn't even tremble at the blow.
"Think of what it would do to her, Tertius!" he yelled through the door. "Even if you're ready to give up everything, do you think she is?!"
He waited for a minute to see if that would gage a reaction from the knight, but there was only stony silence from the room, and with a low oath he turned on his heel and stomped off down the hall, cursing everything that caught his eye. This was the stupidest thing, ever. Tertius was in love, and Glitch should have been happy for him. But when he had to take into account the fact that Glitch's chosen lady interest was probably the one person in the world that should have completely skipped Tertius's attention he couldn't really feel cheerful about it. Trinity was a great girl, sure, he had no problem with her. Just her court. Oberon would never accept a union between his General's only child and a knight from the Iron Kingdom. It went against everything the Summer and Winter courts had laid out in their laws centuries before the Iron Kingdom had come into existence.
The courts mixed on many issues, but love just wasn't one of them. Meghan and Ash had been damn lucky in their draw of Fate, because if they'd had any other draw they either would have ended up worst enemies for eternity or dead by either the hands of their parents or each other. Given what it was, though, they were married and bound for eternity as Queen and Consort of the Iron Kingdom. Sure, it was an inspiring love story to a lot of the fey in all three courts—or, at least in Summer and Iron, Winter just didn't do mushy gushy romance—but to think that another fey would be stupid enough to go along and try to forge his own path in love against every single odd in the world… It was just like Tertius, though. He always challenged the impossible, and he was always calm and collected about it, ready to face whatever was thrown at him.
But that wasn't the Tertius Glitch had just seen. The Tertius he had just faced had been furious, overflowing with passionate emotion, and that made him even more dangerous and possibly unstable. Emotions could be the undoing of one's entire being, and having seen Tertius's reactions to his attempted words of caution told Glitch more than enough about the knight's state of mind. He was totally smitten, and he wasn't about to sit by and hear a word against what he and Trinity might have together. Well, thought Glitch bitterly as he finally reached his room, that was just peachy. Just fucking grand.
"Fuck my life," he muttered as he slammed through his bedroom door, throwing his cloak to the floor and kicking his boots off before throwing himself forcefully on his bed, staring up at the nondescript stony ceiling above him. "Just fuck it…"
He should tell Ash, he thought as he lay with his violet eyes fixed on the ceiling. It wouldn't be safe to let Tertius go on like this, and Elysium was in a few weeks. Meghan had already told Ash that she wanted to bring Tertius with them, though she hadn't exactly said why. Tertius had never cared to go in the past couple of years that the Iron Kingdom had been permitted to take part in the festivities and signing of treaties, but when they had returned today and Meghan had asked if Tertius would like to accompany them this time around the knight had said it would be the greatest honor she could give him. At the time Glitch had thought he was just being his usual knightly self, but now he saw it differently. With Elysium at the Summer Court this time, it meant Tertius could more easily meet up with Trinity while the rulers were busy not cutting each other's throats out. But if he got caught with Trinity—even if they didn't do anything directly out of line with the laws of their courts—that would be a war declaration in the making…
Oberon might not want to go in full out battle with Meghan and Ash—especially considering the Iron Kingdom was basically a faery's worst nightmare come true—but also because Meghan was still his daughter, even if he only claimed it on the worst times when he was demanding favors or obedience, which usually didn't go very well. But Mab might also make a stand, just because she'd love to have the chance to get at Meghan—who still despised—and she wouldn't tolerate the idea of another illegal union like the one she'd had to suffer between her youngest son and the half-blood daughter of her mortal enemy. Ash would probably throw a fit because Tertius had brought down such trouble on him, and even if Meghan managed to work her diplomatic magic and make everyone play nice, there would still be that tension, and it was just as likely that Tertius would be banned from going to any more gatherings where he might run the chance of seeing Trinity.
With all that in mind, Glitch should do the right and virtuous thing and go tell Ash and Meghan, but several minutes passed and he continued to lay flat on his bed, staring at the ceiling, scarcely blinking, with his arms stretched out beside him, and did not move a muscle. Ten minutes passed in which he continued to rant at himself to get off his lazy ass and go warn Ash, but after another five minutes in which he did nothing more than take slow breaths and contemplate the warped stones of the ceiling he grumbled an oath and rolled onto his side, facing away from his door. He couldn't betray Tertius like that…
His friend had worked so hard for so long at doing his duty, and he had never been able to find someone to take the weariness away from him at the end of the day. He'd never really smiled or laughed or been able to just let loose and have fun, but in the past week that they'd spent wandering around in the wyldwood with Goodfellow and the others Glitch had seen an unbelievable change come over his friend. At first he'd thought it was some kind of voodoo magic to do with being in the wooded territories of Summer, but the closer he'd paid attention, the more he'd seen it was because Tertius would hang around Trinity and the others. Well, he'd thought it was because of Trinity and her friends, though now he could see that had been a bit off. It was solely because of Trinity that Tertius had managed to open up a little more, laugh a little louder and smile a lot more brightly. That girl, the Lady of the Summer Court, had put light into Tertius's eyes and warmth in his heart where it had only been steely coldness for so long.
And Glitch would be damned if he was going to go and cut it off before it got started. Tertius would never forgive him if he ruined what he had with Trinity, and Glitch also knew Tertius would clamp up like a vice the moment he was broken off from the one girl that had managed to make so much difference in so little time. He'd become that cold, unyielding knight of the Iron Kingdom that he had always been, and Glitch had grown too fond of the new, happier Tertius to want to risk going to back to the old times when the most he could hope for was a humorless smile in response to one of the lame jokes he would tell just to get a reaction from his friend. And Tertius was his friend, and friends didn't stab each other in the back.
He groaned, rolling onto his stomach and jamming his face into his pillow, feeling a sinking in the pit of his stomach. He didn't like this… He really, really didn't like this, but he was making up his mind now. Even if it cost him dearly to do it, he was going to protect Tertius and Trinity. Even if Ash threw him to the dragons for it, he wasn't going to turn his back on his friend.
"That bastard," he muttered into the fabric of his pillow, "Is gonna owe me so big when this shit fest is all good and done with…"
He started slightly as a light knock came down on his door, and shoved himself up on his elbows to crick his neck around to look warily at the entrance to his room.
"Who is it?" he sang lightly, imagining Ash standing outside, having somehow miraculously having gotten wind of Tertius's forbidden love affair.
"The angel of death," scoffed a girl's voice, "Come to reap your soul. Open the door, Glitch."
Sighing in relief to hear his Queen teasing him from the other side of the door, Glitch rolled out of bed and strode over to open the door to show Meghan standing there in her usual jeans and t-shirt, smiling wanly up at him.
"Yo," he greeted her, stepping back to let her in. "What can I do for my ladyship at this time of…morning?"
He'd glanced at his clock out of habit and cringed inwardly to see it was nearing one o'clock in the AM. He wasn't going to get much sleep tonight that was for sure.
Meghan giggled a little as she took a seat at his makeshift desk, gesturing that he should sit on his bed.
"I think it's too early for titles," she told him. "Just Meghan for this early in the morning. And I wanted to talk to you about Tertius."
Glitch felt his stomach bottom out. Crap…
"Sure," he said easily, flopping down on his bed, hands behind his head as he reclined against the wall, "What about 'im?"
Meghan seemed to contemplate his expression for a moment, as though she were hoping to divulge some information just by staring at him, then sighed and shook her head, looking weary.
"How much did you figure out about him and Trinity?" she asked quietly, a small frown on her face.
Ah, damn…He'd hoped she wouldn't ask that. At least he didn't seem to be in trouble…yet.
"Not much," he admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. "I actually only found out about half an hour ago that he's smitten."
Meghan looked surprised. "You really didn't know?" she asked.
"Uh, no, I didn't," said Glitch, giving his Queen an appraising look. "Was I supposed to?"
"I just thought he might have told you," Meghan said, looking bemused. "He trusts you, you know. I figured if he would have told anyone about it, it would have been you."
"Ah," said Glitch, feeling a stirring of discomfort in his gut and shifting nervously on the bed. "Well, he apparently doesn't trust me that much. I basically had to drag it out of him, word by word, before I got any kind of solid confirmation on it. I was kind of shocked, to be honest. I thought he was kidding at first."
"No, he's not," murmured Meghan, shaking her head. "He's dead serious."
"Yeeeah," sighed Glitch with a frown. "I figured that out, too, unfortunately."
"Unfortunately?" Meghan looked surprised again, and her brow furrowed as she looked at him with a rather bewildered expression. "What do you mean unfortunately?"
Glitch blinked back at his Queen, now very much thrown for a loop, and after a moment of blank staring he stammered, "Well, uh…I thought you were going to say I need to step up and tell Tertius to get a grip on himself?"
Meghan actually laughed. "No," she said, smiling. "No way. Of course, if you're going to tell me that's what you'd like me to say, I can at least try to work it in."
"No," said Glitch immediately. "No, I'm good without it. Uh…but aren't you pissed off or worried?"
"Pissed off, no," Meghan said, shaking her blond head, "Worried, yes. I know Tertius and Trinity being in love is going to probably raise a hell of a lot of issues, but I'm not about to sit here and act like the world is going to end because a couple of people fell in love with each other. Trust me, I've seen worse things happen."
"I bet you have," sighed Glitch with a wry smile.
Meghan smirked at him, then pressed on, "No, but…I actually came to ask if you'll watch out for him. You're his friend and he trusts you, like I said, and since you're both going to Elysium in a couple weeks, I feel like he needs someone there to at least point him the right direction if he starts to stray."
"You want me to play babysitter, you mean?" asked Glitch, arching an eyebrow.
Meghan gave him a dirty look and he laughed, putting his hands up.
"Alright, majesty, I'll do it," he said, grinning at her, laughter in his violet eyes. "I'd already kind of sworn to myself while I was thinking hard over the shit fest that's coming up that I'd make sure he and Trinity didn't get hurt, so it's a good thing you're not ordering me to do the opposite. Though, I have to ask…"
He dropped his voice to a murmur.
"What does Prince Ash think about all of this?"
"That's it's one of the worst ideas I've ever heard of," said a dull voice from the door, nearly causing Glitch to fall of his bed with a yelp of alarm as he turned to see Ash leaning casually in the door, arms across his chest. "But considering that I've seen much worse relationships in the making, I'm not about to be the bad guy of the melodrama to say they can't take their chances together. Besides, Meghan would kill me if I got in the way."
"I'd kill you if you so much as thought about getting in the way," Meghan told him sternly, turning to give her husband a dark look, to which he smiled.
"Which is why I'm bowing out," he chuckled, then looked at Glitch, his expression turning serious. "But I will say this. If Tertius can't keep his head at Elysium and keep his encounters with Trinity off the radar, I won't really have a choice but ban him from going again. I don't want to have to do it, because I know what it would do to both him and Trinity, but that will be my only option. So, Glitch, think you can keep him on the straight and narrow?"
"Straight, sure," said Glitch with an easy smile at his Prince, "Narrow, not so much. That's a pretty broad path he's walking, wouldn't you say?"
Ash rolled his eyes with a sigh of exasperation while Meghan giggled.
"Just keep him in line," said Ash sternly. "Or I'll chew you out again."
"I'd like to avoid that," said Glitch with a grimace. "You're mean when you want to be, sire."
"And don't forget it," growled Ash menacingly.
"Ha, as if," snorted Meghan, tossing her blond hair as she got to her feet and walked up to Ash, blue eyes narrowed. "It's all just an act to scare everyone else into doing exactly what you say, but you're really just a big softy."
"Is that what you think?" Ash asked, eyebrows shooting up at his queen. "I'm yellow?"
"No, not yellow," said Meghan with a smirk. "Just you're not anywhere near as mean as you like to make people think."
"I think you haven't had a good reminder of how mean I can really be, my Lady," Ash growled at her, taking her by the arm and drawing her from the room.
Meghan was laughing as she and Ash stepped through the door, and turning briefly to bid Glitch goodnight she closed the door and walked off with her Prince, still laughing and teasing as their voices disappeared down the hall. Glitch, feeling much relieved to have finally gotten them out of the room, and with all of his limbs intact, let out an enormous sigh and flopped backwards until he was lying on his bed, staring up at the blank ceiling, running through what he'd just heard.
So, neither Meghan nor Ash was ignorant to the situation with Trinity and Tertius. He should have guessed that much. But he hadn't expected them to take it so well, either. Well…that wasn't entirely true. He'd figured Meghan would take the whole thing much better than Ash, but apparently Ash on the same page as his wife for once. While not an unusual happenstance, Glitch hadn't quite expected the Iron Prince to take everything in stride as he had, or to back Meghan on the suggestion that Glitch keep an eye on his fellow knight when Elysium finally swung around. So, that just left the issue of actually carrying out on that duty.
He might like to think it would be an easy venture and that Tertius would remember himself in the Summer Court, but he'd learned a long time ago that when there was a member of the opposite sex involved that every and all bets were off. And especially since he'd seen for himself that Tertius was no longer the cool, collected individual he was so used to seeing around, that just put him in even more of a pinch. He'd have to tread carefully to keep Oberon from noticing anything unusual was going on, and he would also have to walk softly around Tertius unless he wanted to end up setting his friend off in some unpredictable way. The last thing he needed was to have Tertius throwing caution to the winds and kissing Trinity right before the Erkling and everyone else.
"Alright, Glitch," he sighed to himself, "Get a grip. It's not going to be that bad… Just keep him from asking for more than a couple dances, chaperone your good friend, and make sure he leaves with his dignity and body still intact. Piece of cake…"
He hoped…
Sighing in resignation, deciding there was no good sense in staying up any later contemplating how many things could go wrong at an event two long weeks from now, Glitch rolled tiredly onto his side, yanking the blankets up around himself and feeling instantly tired.
"It better be worth it," he sighed, burying his head under the blankets, his violet eyes dropping shut. "All this love crap just wears me out…"
He wasn't the only one on similar thinking terms. Across the castle, still wide awake, staring down at the same piece of paper that he'd had out for what seemed ages, Tertius finally gave it up as a lost cause and pushed back from his desk to march to his window and stare out at the moonlight grounds. Glinting bits of steel and iron gleamed back at him from the castle gardens, and he could see several gremlins skittering around far below, their acid green eyes gleaming brightly in the darkness, their incessant chittering reaching him even four stories up.
He watched them scurry around far below for a long moment, looking like glittering silver beetles from this far up, then heaved a deep sigh and lifted his eyes to gaze out over the seemingly endless landscape of the Iron Kingdom. It went on for ages, though he knew it wasn't endless, but standing up in his room, looking out, it certainly felt endless. Like there was no escape from this place that he had so long called home, but now felt almost trapped in… A steel cage, built of iron and metal, not quite forming bars, but certainly barring him from what he wanted most.
Tertius blinked, suddenly struck by inspiration as he stood staring out into the night, and abruptly pushed back from the window to approach his desk again, quickly seating himself and taking up his pen. Five and a half hours later, and he finally knew what to write to Trinity about…He couldn't believe it had taken him so long… His hand hovering momentarily over the white sheet of paper, he conjured the words in his mind, then, with a small smile on his lips, put the tip of his pen to the paper and began to write.
A prison without bars, though the lands that surround me are just as certainly cold and unyielding and metal as those bars would be, I feel like I have become caged here. The place I have once called home now resembles something more like a prison to me, and I feel that I have been misled all the years of my existence that I have spent believing home was where only your body rested. Humans have a saying, and perhaps you know of it, that home is where your heart rests, and I am starting to realize the truth of those words. Though my heart is just as wrapped in cold metal as the rest of my surroundings, it does not share the same ringing beat as when I am near you. Though this kingdom of Iron may be where I have served my long life, and where my body may lay at rest, it is not my home. Where my heart is, that is truly my home. Until I can return to my true home, I ask you to please look after my heart, for where you are is where it also rests. Keep safe, my Lady. I hope that by the time this letter comes into your hands, I may be at your side as well.
T.
Tertius had hesitated to write his name, and felt it much wiser not to give any more indication to his identity in case the letter happened to fall into the hands of someone who it was not intended for. So, signing off the 'T' with a flourish, he leaned back in his chair and read over his words several times, feeling a lightness in his heart, followed by a prickle of nervousness as he considered whether the letter would manage to reach Trinity, and, if it did, would she like it? Hopefully she wouldn't look it over as something totally unoriginal, because he didn't have anything much better than this, and it had taken him nearly six hours just to get the idea for what would be appropriate to write to her in the first place.
So, praying for the best in her reaction, Tertius focused his attention on a more pressing matter. How the hell did he get the letter to her in the first place?
"Damn," he sighed, leaning his head back and gazing woefully at the ceiling.
He should have considered that before he went making promises to write to her, but that was done and now he had to work out whatever way he could manage to deliver the letter to her. There had to be a way, he thought. After all, there was a constant correspondence between the three courts, and while Meghan may make good use of her e-mail, he was very sure that neither Oberon nor Mab had ever even heard of such a thing. They were still used to good old fashioned quills and parchment. So…how did they get their letters to Meghan? And how did she send them back?
He was tempted to go now and see if the Queen or Prince might be awake to the answer the question, though he knew that would be giving himself away in some sense and would rather avoid it. But if he was to send the letter to Trinity he would have to make a few risks, like the anger of his Monarchs, but before he could work up the nerve to get up and seek out either Meghan or Ash, he glanced around at his clock on a spur of the moment thought and frowned to see it was just past one o'clock in the morning. Even if the Prince and Queen had been awake sometime ago, they were most certainly to be in bed by now, and he wasn't about to go disturb them for the sake of finding out to go about delivering letters to the Summer Court. Much as he disliked it, he would have to wait till morning…or, at least later morning, as it was already in the wee hours of morning though the night sky might like to say otherwise.
Heaving a sigh, he took up the letter and gently folded it in half. Reaching into his desk, he pulled out a small envelope and inserted the note inside before sealing it carefully and placing it to the side. Gazing at it for long moment, feeling that lightheartedness swelling in his chest, a brief smile touched his face and he pushed away from his desk for the final time, yawning and stretching his arms over his head. He would need to be up early, at least in the next six hours. So that was a six hour time frame he was going to do his best to spend sleeping as he should normally be doing. Slipping out of his tunic top, and placing his boots neatly to the side of his bed, he rolled under the blankets with a deep sigh and let his tired silver eyes drift shut, curling up on his side and letting his mind wander away into sleep, where the image of a bright eyed girl with flowing ivory hair waited for him with a teasing smile that made her sapphire eyes sparkle with laughter.
Much later, though it seemed much too soon for Tertius, his dreams were disturbed by a persistent hammering on his door. Glitch, coming to rouse him for their morning training, and though his friend's expression was somewhat sympathetic as he poked and prodded at Tertius, who mumbled oaths about the cursed earliness of the hour, he didn't relent until Tertius finally rolled slowly out of bed, rubbing at his blurry silver eyes.
"Up and at 'em, sunshine," Glitch told him, still shaking his friend's shoulder to be sure the other knight wouldn't roll back into bed the moment he walked away. "I know you probably got little to no sleep being up as late as you were pining away, but we've got work to do. Training to perfect, dummies to stab; it'll be great. Come on."
"Ugh," muttered Tertius, jamming the heels of his hands into his eyes, slumped over with his elbows on his knees.
"I know," sighed Glitch with a small grin. "Don't worry, you can crash as soon as we're finished at noon. Meghan decided we didn't need to be up the whole day since we got back last night. So, before she changes her mind because you got lazy, get up, or I'll have to drag your sorry ass out of here in your boxers to go fight."
"I'm up," sighed Tertius, rising slowly to his feet, still bleary eyed as he staggered over to snatch his tunic from the floor, "I'm up…"
"Good," snickered Glitch. "Now, do you think you could shine a little more? I know rising is the mandatory bit, but shining is usually supposed to go hand in hand with it."
"Hmph," snorted Tertius, rolling his eyes as he yanked his tunic over his head, then grabbed his slacks from where he'd dropped them across the back of his chair.
He glanced at his desk, and froze, his eyes widening, immediately awake as he noticed something that made his stomach disappear. The letter was gone…
"Where—?" he started, turning around in a panic, but Glitch held up a hand and cut across him.
"Chillax, Tertius, the letter is safe. Meghan came by earlier to talk to you but you were clocked out and she saw the letter and knew you'd want it sent to Trinity as soon as possible. She went ahead and had one of the packrats ship it out. It'll be in Arcadia this time tomorrow."
Tertius took a deep breath, trying to calm the hammering of his heart that had temporarily gone into overdrive as he thought about the letter to Trinity being burned somewhere. But then he processed the rest of the sentence a little more carefully and felt his chest constrict.
"Meghan?" he asked, feeling nauseous. "How did she know who it was for?"
Glitch snorted, violet eyes rolling at the ceiling. "Because you're not as slick as you'd like to believe," he said dryly. "And Meghan isn't stupid. She apparently knew about you and Trinity before I knew about you and Trinity. So, that being said, when we go to Elysium in a couple weeks, she has me set up to be your personal conscience in the flesh to make sure you don't trip over yourself and set the courts in uproar."
Tertius stared at the other knight, who shrugged.
"I'd already kind of made up my mind to help you," said Glitch idly, "So it wasn't like she was asking much. By the way, sorry for last night's drama. The whole thing kind of caught me off guard and I guess I let it get the better of me."
He didn't look at Tertius as he apologized, but he didn't manage to hide the remorse in his gaze quite as well as he might have liked to, and Tertius felt a small nudge of appreciation and affection for the knight. He knew Glitch still probably wasn't entirely bought in on the idea of him being in love with a Summer noble lady, but to hear his fellow knight at least give his own kind of support, however awkwardly put it may seem, was humbling, and Tertius flashed a small, gratified smile.
"Thank you, Glitch," he murmured, walking up to clap his friend on the shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah, don't push it," said Glitch, giving Tertius a look of grudging amusement as he smacked at his friend's arm. "Just don't go making out with her before Oberon and everyone, alright? The last thing I need is Ash jumping down my throat again because your hormones decided to take a late start."
Tertius smirked and rolled his eyes as the other knight strode from the room, calling over his shoulder,
"And hurry up, or you'll miss breakfast! And I'm not going to be sorry if you have to work on an empty stomach because you're tired as hell this morning!"
Yep, that was Glitch. Abrasive and crass but unfaltering loyal to a tee. Tertius might have wished they could have had a better coming to terms with their brief argument last night, he knew that the offhanded apology was probably the best he could hope for. And anything else that might have come up between them would easily be dealt with in their spar today. Just a good swat with the flat side of a blade and a couple welts would clear the whole thing right up and they'd be back to normal again.
Sighing to himself as he tightened the belt of his sword around his waist, Tertius strode from the room, closing the door carefully behind him and turning to walk down the stairs, nearly slamming into Meghan in the process as the Queen came hurrying up to him, her blue eyes eager.
"I'm sorry, my Lady," apologized Tertius, reaching out to steady the Queen as she nearly toppled backwards back down the stairs.
"No, that was my fault, sorry," said Meghan, a little breathlessly. "I wanted to catch you before you went out for practice with Glitch. The letter you wrote—"
"Glitch said you had it sent this morning?" Tertius asked in an anxious murmur, and Meghan nodded, her smile blinding.
"I put my name on it," she admitted. "To make sure no one would try to open it before it got to Trinity. It'll be there by tomorrow waiting for her, even if she hasn't gotten there yet, which she should be there by sometime today if Puck is taking them back through the trod."
Tertius nodded and inclined his head gratefully. "Thank you, my Queen."
"Don't mention it," she said with another radiant smile, then added in a more serious tone, "Literally. Don't mention it. I don't need Ash on my tail for aiding and abetting the cause, though, if he gives you trouble for it, just tell him about this Winter Prince you heard about a long time and that ought to shut him up really quick."
Tertius grinned slightly and Meghan winked conspiratorially at him.
"Now, hurry up," she said, stepping aside so he could go down the stairs, "Glitch was talking about eating your breakfast and I don't think you two need to be fighting about anything else today, especially food."
Giving her a brief bow, Tertius went swiftly down the stairs to the kitchens where he found Glitch just about to tuck in to his plate of food, having cleared his own. Slapping the knight sharply across the back of the head, Tertius snatched his share back, much to Glitch's chagrin, and quickly swallowed down all that was there before getting to his feet to follow the still mumbling Glitch out into the courtyard to train.
"Now," said Glitch, turning on his heel as they reached the far end of the training area and flashing a devilish grin at Tertius as he drew his sword, "Just 'cause you're a lovesick puppy today and probably dead on your feet doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you, so I hope you're ready to take a beating."
Tertius rolled his eyes and heaved a resigned sigh. This was so typical…Glitch always taunted him like this, only today included the lovesick part, though somehow he didn't mind it quite so much as he unsheathed his sword and twirled it easily in his hands.
"I just hope you don't cry too much when we're done here," he told Glitch with a dark smile of his own.
"Oooh, cocky little bastard," said Glitch, beginning to circle slowly, his sword point up. "Just don't go complaining to your lady friend that you got your ass handed to you, alright?"
"Wouldn't dream of it," replied Tertius, his silver eyes tracking Glitch's every move as he always began to dance along the edges of their training circle, feet moving lightly back and forth, "Though I'll be sure to enjoy my time relaying the story of how sorry you looked when you went flying feet over head into the steel magnolias."
"Oh, it's on now, lover boy," Glitch said with a laugh and lunged forward, sword extended. "En garde!"
Tertius easily parried the foreseeable move, sliding sideways and retaliating, smacking the flat of his blade across Glitch's shoulder so the other knight swore loudly and swung upward to fend him off. Dancing back to the end of the circle, they started circling again, Glitch rolling his shoulder and narrowing his violet eyes at Tertius.
"Point," said Tertius with a wicked gleam in his silver eyes.
"Lucky shot," said Glitch, then lunged forward again, angling to hit a point on Tertius's calf, but at the last second his sparring partner dodged neatly to the side so Glitch's sword went singing by and Tertius gave a return blow to Glitch's extended arm. "Why you little…!"
The training intensified, as it always did, with the swords clanging together more often as the two got more and more into it, and their grunts of exertion filled the air as they put real effort into their moves. Glitch kept his guard up more, even managing to land a couple stinging blows to Tertius's arm and side, though Tertius kept up a much meaner pace that eventually had Glitch calling a break and going to one knee, panting.
Tertius hung back at his end of the circle, also breathing deeply, a fine sheen of sweat on his brow as he let his sword hang loosely at his side, and Glitch lifted his head to fix his partner with a grin.
"Man, you suck," he said in half hearted irritation. "I thought maybe with you pining away for your lady I'd have a chance today!"
"Never," said Tertius with a small smirk. "I can still lay you out flat in a heartbeat."
"Oh, yeah?" Glitch cocked an eyebrow. "Then why haven't you done it yet, huh? I'm still ready to go at you, man."
"Because that would be unfair of me to assert my superior fighting skills in a child's squabble," said Tertius, his silver eyes gleaming with amusement as Glitch came to his feet, shaking off the soreness and exhaustion.
"Just means you're an old man playing on the big kid's playground," Glitch retorted, swinging his blade in circles, the metal slicing through the air with a shrill whistling sound. "You're up for retirement."
"As I've said before: Bring it."
Tertius crooked two fingers at his opponent, who gave a short battle cry before rushing in for the attack. They kept at it for another long few hours, Tertius still holding his lead with Glitch struggling to keep pace until, finally, with both of them covered in sweat and gasping for breath, they broke apart, ready to go again, when someone called out to them and they looked around to see Meghan skipping lightly down the steps towards them. Her loyal German Shepherd, Beau, trailing at her side, tongue lolling and tail wagging as he darted ahead with a bark to assault Glitch with licks, much to Tertius's amusement as Glitch was knocked to the ground by the enormous dog.
"Eck, dog saliva!" Glitch exclaimed, trying to push at Beau's chest to get him off with no success as the canine continued to lick eagerly at his face. "Ahck, it's in my mouth! That's disgusting! Bad dog, get down! Down, I said!"
Meghan laughed as she danced up to the knights, grinning in amusement as Glitch struggled with his newest opponent, and Tertius looked on with an equally entertained smile.
"I came out to interrupt the two of you," the Queen admitted after a moment more of watching her knight be assaulted, "Since I felt you two needed rest. I told Glitch to tell you you only needed half the training today."
"He did," Tertius said, nodding at her. "I feel we got a little carried away, though."
"As per usual," said Meghan with a knowing smile. "You two always get blown away with the adrenaline and testosterone when you're going head to head. I swear, it's like watching Puck and Ash all over again."
Tertius gave a rather sheepish smile as his Queen gave him a stern look. Then they both turned to watch Glitch for another few moments as the knight continued to struggle at heaving Beau off of him, though the dog seemed perfectly content to seat himself right on Glitch's chest and sit with his tongue lolling out, dripping saliva onto the Iron fey's face to his utter disgust.
"So," sighed Meghan after another long while, giving Tertius a sidelong glance, a knowing smile dancing across her face. "While it's on my mind, what's she like?"
Tertius turned to her, a little startled, and she grinned at him.
"Trinity," the Queen prompted him, giving him a small nudge with her elbow. "Come on, give me a little something. What's got you and her so close? I know I was there and saw her, but…that was more a physical 'thereness' than me really paying attention. Besides, even though I knew you two were getting friendly I don't exactly know what has the two of you so close. I'm curious."
She flashed him an impish smile while he continued to stare back at her, rather put off by this interest from his Monarch, and he felt his heart flip over strangely as he pointedly looked away, not quite able to meet Meghan's bright blue eyes.
"I…" He began, then faltered and swallowed. "I can't really say for certain…I'm still…figuring it out myself, I suppose."
Meghan watched the knight with a knowing expression, arms folded loosely across her chest, then turned away as well to watch Glitch covering his hands with his face, still yelling curses at the oblivious dog.
"Does she make you happy?" she asked softly.
Tertius was quiet for a long moment, thinking over the words, and watching the sunlight overhead touch on the metallic roses nearby, turning their gray petals a dazzling silver that nearly blinded him so he blinked and looked down at his feet.
"Yes," he murmured at last. "She does. More than I ever thought anyone could make me feel."
A soft smile came to Meghan's face as she continued to gaze almost sightlessly over the courtyards of her palace, and she let her eyes close briefly with a sigh that could have been from relief.
"I'm glad," she said, her tone sincere. "You've been on your own for a long time. It's why I was so happy when I realized that you and her had connected."
Tertius felt a jolt of surprise and glanced over at the Iron Queen, though she still had her eyes peacefully closed as she let a light breeze play around her face.
"Even though we're from different courts?" he asked after a moment.
Meghan gave a small snort of annoyance and opened her eyes only to roll them heavenward. "I could care less about court loyalties," she told him dryly. "If those mattered, Ash and I wouldn't be together. I'd still be stuck in Summer, and he'd be hanging out in Winter under Mab's thumb. Those kinds of things don't matter to us, and they really shouldn't matter to you."
She turned to him, fixing him with a piercing look from her blue-green eyes.
"The Courts don't hold power over everything, Tertius," she told him. "If they did, we'd never have to worry about what might happen if the humans ever stop believing. We wouldn't have to have these pointless squabbles about land and everything else, and we definitely wouldn't have enemies. Summer would either win over Winter or vice versa, or we'd win over both of them. But not everyone has the power to control everything, and it's really stupid for any of them to think that they can control something as free and unpredictable as love. Believe me, Oberon and Mab tried their hardest to keep Ash and I apart and look where it landed them. I'm a Queen, Ash is my husband, and the other two are sitting in their Courts probably still sour about the whole thing."
She flashed a wry smile that he returned, then sighed and shook her blond head, frowning.
"It doesn't make sense to me why the courts can share so many things, and yet not the most important thing of all," she murmured, sounding sad as she lifted her eyes to the blue sky overhead, watching as a couple of gliders drifted lazily by. "They're always fighting, bickering for land and everything else, and they might be able to resolve so many conflicts if they just get rid of all that hate and let their people start to mingle. Though, given how much time has passed since that enmity started I doubt anyone in either of the courts would willingly associate with their enemies. The only reason I managed to warm up to Ash was because I was originally human and didn't have that bias yet. And Trinity is the same. Her father might have been a General of Summer, but she was raised to be human, so she thinks like a human. And that human side of her loves you."
Tertius felt that increasingly familiar twisting in his heart to hear his Queen state the words aloud so easily, and felt an unusual fluttering sensation in his stomach that had him feeling a little lightheaded. In the meantime, Meghan went on, still speaking her soft voice,
"I don't what will happen in the future, but I know that if you two want to be together there shouldn't be anything that has the right to stop you. You are your own people. And if Oberon decides to go get high and mighty about the whole thing, I'm sure Trinity will give him an earful about it whenever he tries to rein her in. She's got spunk, and I can tell she doesn't like taking orders very much."
"Like you," said Tertius with a small smile directed as his Queen, who had the grace to grin in embarrassment even as she nodded.
"Yeah, like me," she agreed. "I guess that's why she and I got along so well. We both had to listen to Oberon go on and on like he rules the world, and we both hate it."
She shrugged her shoulders and sighed.
"Guess that's the way of the world," she murmured, and gave Tertius another small smile, accompanied by a gentle look. "Make your own choices, Tertius. Ash and I will be behind you no matter what they are. Unless you try to go storm the Summer Court, or something, then we might have to talk about it first. But if you're set on Trinity—and I can see you are—then all I can say is go for it. You only live once, even if you end up living for eternity, and I can tell she means the world to you already."
Tertius met his Queen's vivid blue-green gaze with his own piercing silver one, and when she smiled he could only stand there, feeling humbled.
"Well, that's my two cents for the day," Meghan sighed, stretching her arms over her head. "I have to go check some e-mails really quickly. Apparently there's been some kind of issue with the cables again and I have the feeling one of the gremlins is behind it, so Ash and I are checking that out in a bit. In the meantime, you and Glitch get some rest. There'll be some downtime for the next couple of weeks, and I'd suggest you use it to power up for Elysium in a couple of weeks."
Giving one last grin she turned to leave, calling Beau to her side as she went so the German Shepherd finally hoped off of Glitch's chest and hurried after his master, barking happily.
Glitch rolled to his stomach, moaning loudly and wiping drool from his face with a look of pure disgust on his face.
"I hate dogs," he grumbled as he pushed himself to his knees, still wiping furiously at his cheeks and face. "Not much of a cat person either, but I really hate dogs!"
"Maybe you'd be better off with a gerbil," suggested Tertius with a smirk as he walked up to offer his hand.
Glitch took it and Tertius yanked him to his feet.
"Screw it, I'm just never having pets of my own," Glitch said irritably, rolling his eyes. "Or kids. They're just as bad."
"Are they now?" Tertius asked, amused. "And how would you know that?"
"I just do, alright," said Glitch, grimacing. "Think about it, it's not that hard, they crawl on all fours, they babble, they drool and they puke. The only difference between babies and animals is that animals still have a tail to knock crap over with."
"Babies grow up eventually," Tertius reminded him.
"Yeah, but that means you have to raise the little bastards," said Glitch, shuddering at the very idea. "I say no thank you, I'll just die old and alone with no children to my name and say I lived a full happy life."
"A full happy life," mused Tertius, "Alone…How does that equate in exactly? If you're alone, how was it happy?"
"You wouldn't understand," said Glitch with an indignant sniff as they headed back into the palace, ready for lunch, "You're in love, my poor sir. People in love are blind to the joys of singleness."
"Are they, now?" Tertius asked, highly entertained. "I'm starting to think all that drool seeped in through every orifice on your face and has soaked into your brain, causing you to short circuit and you don't actually know what you're talking about."
"And while I am envisioning that lovely mental picture," said Glitch in total revulsion, "I'll kindly thank you for the innumerable welts that are now popping up all over my body that are sure to give me such grief in the next few hours and days and which I shall repay you for in due time, so watch your back."
"Duly noted," said Tertius with a smirk. "I'll make sure to keep looking over my shoulder every time I sense malicious intent behind me."
"Mock me if you will," said Glitch disdainfully, "I can assure you that you will be lying on the ground one day, flat on your back, staring at the ceiling, and curse the day you engaged me in mock battle."
"Uh-huh," said Tertius, rolling his silver eyes skyward as they turned the corner into the dining hall, where the cook had already set out two steaming plates of food for them. Clearly, Meghan had beaten them to the punch and forewarned the cook of approaching famished knights.
"Just you wait," Glitch said in a would-be menacing voice as they took their seats in the otherwise empty hall, "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too."
"You are such a sad, strange little man," sighed Tertius, smirking as he lifted his knife and fork to eat.
"I don't want to hear sad," said Glitch, brandishing his own steak knife even as he shoveled potatoes into his mouth. "Sad is you're in love with this chick, and I don't really know jack shit about her, and I'd really like to! And you haven't had the heart to come and tell me a thing about it! I had to hear it from Meghan and Ash, for crying out loud. That's sad."
"Alright," said Tertius as he chewed on his steak while Glitch cast him a steely look from the corner of his eyes. "I get the clue. You're upset that I didn't tell you before Meghan and Ash did. Even though, technically, I kind of did."
"Not really," snorted Glitch, "You and I got into a spat about it and then I got confirmation from Meghan and Ash. You didn't really tell me jack shit, man."
"Well, now that we're on the subject, what would you like me to tell you?" Tertius asked, exasperated.
"How it got started would be a good place," Glitch suggested, now stuffing carrots into his already packed maw. "Followed by what the heck you two were doing when you vanished that morning."
Tertius sighed. How had he known it would come to this? Ah, well, no turning back now…
"It's basically what I told Meghan," he murmured, looking down into the puddles of gravy on his plate, "I don't really know how it got started it just…kind of did…"
"Ah, the spark," said Glitch in an all-knowing voice. "That one shot from the gun and you've been had. Alright, I can believe that. But what kept you going with it? Didn't you think maybe it was just a phase? I mean…you only knew her for a few days…"
"I did think about it," Tertius admitted in a quiet voice, still gazing sightlessly down at his plate, drawing the tongs of his fork idly through the gravy and potatoes, "Because that occurred to me, too. It was only a few days and what could I really see in her after only just six days? But I realized that it wasn't just a phase after a little bit and there was no point trying to pretend it was and that I'd get over it. I knew I wouldn't…and something told me she wouldn't either, which is why I blew up at you last night when you suggested that she would. I may not know a lot about her, but I know enough to know that when she puts herself out there it's meant to last. She doesn't go for that spontaneous moment. She aims for the things that last and make her life brilliant forever, rather than just having those couple of times that shine more brightly than the rest. She's adventurous, but she's not rash. She looks for the big things in life, but she also makes sure that they'll stay there for a long time. Like her friends, Catherine and Nikki, she wants ties and relationships that she can rely on for a long, long time.
"I wanted to be able to be like that for her, too… I wanted to be able to be there for her for as long as she wanted me to be there."
He lapsed into silence then, gazing unseeingly at his food, and Glitch gazed down at him, his violet eyes thoughtful and dark. After a while, he turned back to his own food, which was just a few traces of gravy and meat left behind that he spooned up and knocked back with a contented sigh before laying his knife and fork across the plate.
"Well," he said quietly, "If she matters to you, then that's it. You're not rash, either, so I can tell you're in this for the long run. And, whatever may come, be it hell, high water, or a bunch of angry ass Summer faeries come to eat your heart out, I'll be beside you to beat them back with a ten foot pole."
Tertius turned to fix his partner with a stunned look, and when Glitch caught the amazed way in which the knight was looking at him he gave a lame shrug and a lopsided grin.
"I already decided I'm going to help you out with this," he told Tertius, reaching out to throw an arm around his friend's shoulders. "So don't go giving me that look like you expected to come out and say 'just kidding' because you'll be a long time waiting for it. You're stuck with me, man. Until you get a ring on your lady fair's finger or one of you decides it's not worth the bullshit anymore, I'll be here. And, you know, what, even if one of you does decide it's not worth the bullshit, if that person happens to be you, I'm going to kick you so hard in the ass you're going to have a boot print there for the rest of your life because if you give up I'm going to keep reminding you how hard you already worked to get here. So don't even think about it."
Tertius was grinning as Glitch finished his little ultimatum, and chuckled when his friend fixed him with a dark stare that was supposed to be menacing, but only came off as amusing.
"Alright," he said, smiling at Glitch. "Alright…I'll remember. No giving up, or your boot makes friends with my ass. That about it?"
"Damn right it is," said Glitch fiercely, grinning. "Now, let's get on with this. I have many more questions to inquire about, and not enough time in this day to probably get them answered."
"But you're going to give it your best shot, aren't you?" sighed Tertius, rolling his silvery eyes at the high vaulted ceiling.
"Of course I am," said Glitch, "Just because there isn't enough time doesn't mean I don't follow the laws of such time. I will have my questions answered immediately. Now, unless you're going to kindly hand over that plate to me to finish, I suggest you finish eating so we can continue this conversation in more private venues, and because I know you well enough that you won't be rude enough to talk with your mouth full. Priss that you are…"
Tertius smirked and obediently bent to the task of swallowing the rest of the roast and potatoes stacked on his plate while Glitch idly twirled his fork between his fingers, humming blandly to himself. Five minutes later, they were pushing away from the table and making their way out of the dining hall, Glitch slinging an arm around Tertius's shoulders and guiding him straight to his room.
"Now then, my good sir," Glitch said as he set himself down at his desk, gesturing for Tertius to take the bed. "I have a very serious question to ask you. And I would appreciate a straight answer on the matter."
"You think I wouldn't give you a straight answer?" asked Tertius, cocking an eyebrow.
"You might," said Glitch idly, smirking. "Since I'm going to ask about how you feel about matrimony and all that."
"Matrimony?" Tertius's eyebrows shot up. "Marriage? And why are you asking me about that?"
"Because, it has to be asked," said Glitch, leaning back in his chair, long legs stretched out in front of him. "Are you or are you not planning to eventually ask this lovely lady's hand in marriage? Yes, no, possibly, yet to be decided?"
"Is this a really necessary question right now?" sighed Tertius, drawing a hand over his face, feeling immediately weary. "It's only been a week, Glitch. People don't generally get married after a week."
"Hey, it could happen," said Glitch with a wry smile. "Breaking new ground, you know…"
"Next question," sighed Tertius, peering over his fingers at Glitch.
"Alright," muttered Glitch, rolling his eyes. "Let's see…when are you planning on kissing her?"
"Next question…"
"Oh, come on!"
Tertius gave Glitch a look. "I can't really answer that question, either, Glitch. I don't know. It isn't just about my plans, after all. She's part of it, too."
"Of course," sighed Glitch, looking resigned. "Of course she is, and you, being the noble gentleman, will of course let her have her say in how quickly your lips lock on hers…Typical."
"You say it like it's a bad thing to let her have her say," said Tertius with a skeptical look directed at his comrade.
"I am not suggesting that," denied Glitch, shaking his head. "Just that you're almost too virtuous for your own good. You really need to assert yourself more, man. Otherwise you're going to get left in the dust. You know the good guys always finish last."
"Funny," said Tertius in a sarcastic voice, "Last time I checked, we won the war."
"Details," snorted Glitch. "And totally besides the point. We finish first in wars and last in love. It's a cruel irony. The bastards always get the girl."
"Mind what you say," Tertius warned him, "Unless you'd like to bring it up with Prince Ash that perhaps he isn't such a nice guy."
Glitch gave his partner a dirty look and snorted his annoyance. "Still beside the point. Alright, fine, next question. What are you going to do at Elysium in a couple weeks?"
"Why do you insist on asking me questions about what I'm planning to do and assuming that I even have a plan?" demanded Tertius in exasperation.
"Why do you not have plans?" retorted Glitch in disbelief. "Everyone needs plans for things like this!"
"I think that's your philosophy," sighed his comrade, rolling his mercury eyes for what felt like the umpteenth time that day. "I personally prefer to wing it. It's worked well for me so far, wouldn't you agree?"
"I can't say," Glitch responded. "I don't know what you guys have done so far."
"We went for a walk in the woods, promised to write letters to each other," Tertius was getting a little annoyed, "Anything else you want to know?"
"What'd you write in the letter?" Glitch's expression was distinctly mischievous.
"None of your business."
"Aw, don't be such a killjoy!"
"I'm not. I'm telling you what I write to Trinity is absolutely none of your business," Tertius responded coolly. "And if you keep asking questions like that, I'm leaving."
"Alright, then what questions should I ask you?" asked Glitch, huffing in annoyance, "Since I can't seem to get them right."
"A good place to start," said a voice from the door, causing them to jump and turn to see Ash standing there, one hip leaned lazily against the doorjamb as he looked at them, "Is generally with 'what does she make you feel when you're with her'?"
"Hello, there, sir," Glitch hailed his Prince, who looked vaguely amused as he glanced over at his lieutenant. "I didn't see you there."
"You weren't supposed to," Ash told him, and turned to Tertius. "So, has he asked you that yet? How she makes you feel when she's around?"
"No," admitted Tertius.
"But he kind of already answered that question by himself without my prompting," Glitch added with a lame shrug. "Apparently she makes him very, very happy."
"I didn't say that," Tertius said with a frown.
"No, but you didn't really need to, it was written all over your face as you stared longingly into the depths of your mashed potatoes," said Glitch with a dramatic sigh, pressing a hand to his heart, "Dreaming of the day when you and your lady fair will be together…eating them off the same spoon."
Tertius picked up a book from the nightstand and chucked it at Glitch, who didn't duck in time and took the heavy tome right to his face with an oath as it dropped into his lap then slid off his knee to the floor.
"Damn it, Tertius, that hurt!"
"It was as much as you deserved, you cretin."
"Alright, children, stop fighting," sighed Ash, rolling his eyes. "Otherwise Meghan will want to hear why you two are out of commission and I'll have to explain it all and then it'll be my fault."
"Yes, daddy," said Glitch with a wry smirk at his prince, even as he pressed a hand to his forehead, where a bruise was forming.
Smirking at a memory of another time Glitch had been nursing a similar injury, Tertius turned to Ash as the prince fixed him with a serious look.
"So, I assume Glitch has told you about what's going to happen in Elysium?" he asked lightly.
"The part where he's my chaperone?" inquired Tertius, and when Ash nodded he smiled. "Yes, he informed me. He also made sure to tell me he'll give me such grief if I cause trouble."
"He won't be the only one," Ash said in a menacing tone, though he smirked. "Just be sure not to make any deliberate offenses against Oberon while we're there, Tertius. I may be backing you on this along with Meghan and Glitch, but I can't say with certainty that Oberon won't blow up if something gets leaked."
"Ah, the scandal," sighed Glitch with a conspirator's smirk thrown at Tertius, "You really know how to work it, don't you?"
"You're not helping the issue," Tertius told him, to which he shrugged carelessly.
"I'm not supposed to help you until two weeks from now. My duty is currently in stand-by mode."
"I'll keep that in mind…"
"In any case," said Ash with another roll of his eyes. "Both of you get some rest. Glitch, I'd like to speak with you a little later tonight regarding plans for Elysium."
"Yes, your Excellency," said Glitch with a small salute. Ash swept from the room, leaving the two knights in each other's company.
"I'm going back to my room," sighed Tertius, rising to his feet as well and stretching his arms over his head. They ached from the earlier sparring match, but pain for him was a good thing. It meant he was getting stronger, and strength was always something he looked forward to, especially when everyone around him was making it sound like he'd never every ounce that he had to avoid getting turned into a bramble bush come Elysium. "I'll see you at dinner later, assuming you're not cooped up in the Prince's office discussing potential battle strategies."
"Alright," said Glitch, waving idly as his friend passed him. "Try not to get lost or trip down the stairs on your way."
"Uh-huh," yawned Tertius as he slipped through the door.
Glitch smirked after the knight, then sat for a while, considering what he could now to pass the time, since he really didn't have any other plans. Normally, he and Tertius would have trained until sundown and then had dinner with the rest of the castle, but this was an odd day and now he felt kind of put off without anything to do. Whistling idly to himself, looking around for something to do, and caught sight of the book that Tertius had thrown at him lying open on the floor. What the heck, he thought, bending to pick it up from the floor, flicking to the front page, only to stop dead as he read the title.
"Aw, hell, no," he said in disdain, throwing it across the room so it smacked against the opposite wall. "Fucking Romeo and Juliet, how the hell did that even get in here?"
He heard a snicker behind him and spun around to see a Gremlin squatting on his desk, bat like ears quivering and bright green eyes flickering as it chattered in a static like voice at him before scurrying off the side and out the door, cackling madly.
"Fucking Gremlins," he muttered, standing up and stomping across the room to slam the door. "Need to put out some mousetraps for those little bastards…"
Yeah, right, he thought bitterly to himself as he decided to take the time offered to nap, like Meghan would let him put out traps for those little bugs…she was too damn fond of them. Grumbling to himself, he climbed into his bed and yanked the covers up over his head to block out the noontime sun beating in through his window, wincing as he disturbed a couple of the rising welts on his shoulder and arm and making a mental note to see the healer about them a little later, and also to be sure to give Tertius hell the next day during their sparring session. With a vengeful grin curling the corners of his mouth as he envisioned Tertius nursing golf ball sized welts, Glitch gave a small chortle and sigh as he closed his eyes and fell very quickly to sleep.